Black Cherry Kool-Aid And P.J.'s

Word of the Post
Today's word is: scintillating
/sin"til*late*ing/ adjective
To emit sparks; brilliantly clever, witty, having high spirits; sparkling or effervescent.
Engaging conversation, exciting events, glittering costume jewelry or a simple static shock can all be described as scintillating.
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I have a meme to answer. I was tagged by someone who doesn't know me. Hee hee. My new blog buddy, Suzeque, tagged me with this one. I don't usually answer these in my emails... but I will play for this time. Grudgingly.

I get a little cranky about all the crazy memes floating around. I don't want anyone to take this personally. It is my own small opinion of the meme (this includes junk mail forwards!). They are really hidden phishing scams, I am sure of it. How many times must I answer 20-140 questions, about what drinks I like and what I am wearing? I would hang up on anyone who asked such a thing over the phone. (Except for my DH, of course) Seriously, we let the world stalk us in a joke or in a meme, but we get offended that our friends want to know us. The guilt trips over deleting the religious ones make me ill. I don't have to forward junk to prove that I love Jesus, and that He is the Savior of my soul. The sob stories over missing children can't be backed up, but demand that the more people who see the picture, the better the chance of the non-existing child can be found. It just gets old.

Kind of like my opinion of a photograph: you can have one. After that, something gets broken. Whether that be your camera cracking for my face, or me throwing your camera off a cliff depends on your attitude when I refuse the second time. I am not usually a violent person, just a volatile temperament about junk stressing me out.

Suzeque, this is one for you. Here is some of my storied past, checkered though it may be.

Questions of Fours

Four jobs that I’ve had:
1. Glory Be! Christian Bookstore (now Family)
2. Joshua's Christian Bookstore (bought by Family and now out of business... There is a P.F. Chang's and a Lasik clinic there now)
3. Durango Cat Company (ask me about my stint in the Cat House!)
4. Subway Sandwich Artist

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. The Princess Bride
2. Beaches
3. Any Veggie Tales
4. Sleeping Beauty

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Mom's Build-Your-Own-Nachos Buffet Bar
2. Mom's Potato Soup
3. Garlic Mashed Potatoes
4. Food. Seriously, I just love food, and you could tell just by looking at me.

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Frasier
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. Most anything on Food network (the only thing I can’t stand is the Barefoot
Contessa) ~ I agree with Suezque's answer exactly!
4. Pushing Daisies

Four Places I’ve lived:
1. Byron, NY
2. Fort Collins, CO
3. Gallup, NM
4. Oklahoma City, OK

Four places I’ve been on vacation:
1. Houston, TX
2. Niagara Falls, NY
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. The Four Corners, UT+CO+AZ+NM

Four websites I visit daily:
1. UserFriendly.org
2. Day by Day by Chris Muir
3. Indexed by Jessica Hagy
4. My list of Blogs (many more than I list on my page)

Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. anyplace in CO
2. reading a book
3. sleeping
4. Cleaning Mom's house, and swapping cars with Dad

I will spare you the rest of it... I am not tagging others to play along; they can join in or not if they choose.

Now, for a little News of the Weird. A kitty is getting frequent flier miles. What amazes me is that after the adventure, the cat got to go to NY to be interviewed by Al Roker for the Today show. Wish I could fly for a mere $80. She skipped that the first time. She made it through an X-ray of the suitcase! (Wow, our airports need better security measures!) My cats always hop in my travel bags. They seem to think that I will not leave if they are in my bag. I think also it has something to do with smells. They think if my stuff smells like them, other animals will leave me alone. It almost never works. Mystic knows the difference between the bag that carries her to the car for the trip to the vet, and the bag that carries my clothes when I take a vacation. She won't go near her own bag if she can help it.

Have a happy week!

The Woodhouse Family on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Word of the Post
Today's word is: Paraclete
/par"a*cleet/ noun
An advocate, one called to aid or support. Comforter, Consoler, Intercessor. A term applied to the Holy Spirit. Properly is capitalized, because it is a Title.
My father wanted to get a Parakeet and name him Paraclete. He also wanted a Basset Hound to name Angela. Mom vetoed both ideas. (I am sure Angela Basset will be happy to know that.)
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Through Niki's site, I have come into contact with many people. She brought me to her circle of friends, and welcomed me in without hesitation. Because of that friendship, I got introduced to the Woodhouse family (vicariously, but still...). They were selected to be on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and they now have the most beautiful home, and Kayla can be safe and cool inside all the time. I have seen comments on other sites asking if their show could be viewed online. I have found the answer. YES!

As of this post, if you go HERE, you can click on "Full Episodes", then click on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". The Woodhouse Family Episode is currently #2 on the list. This is a rotating list, so it will be gone in a month or so, replaced by new episodes.

This is a truly special family. So many people who ask for a build are just in it for the cool new house, the money it can help them with. Most of them will still be in financial ruin in the next two years, because of their bad habits and lack of management skills. The Woodhouses needed this home to keep Kayla alive. Her conditions prevents her from doing a lot of things that kids do; and her brother is so sweet, giving up his outdoor time to keep his sister company. The love of God and the sacrifice of salvation is REAL to this family, in ways that most people don't ever have the chance to know. They GET it. Now, through the generosity of strangers, community, friends and family, they have a home that they cannot lose, and a new view of the awesome support system that God put in place for them.

Miracles don't have to be huge to be significant. This one was both. God provides for his children; He promises so over and over, and we still hesitate to believe, to call on Him. I am sitting here in awe of God. Go watch the episode, if you missed it, and join me here in the presence of the Almighty.

Every Girl Knows Statistics LIE

Word of the Post
Today's word is: onomatopoeia
/on*uh*maht*uh*pee"uh/ noun
Words that imitate the sound they stand for; Crash, bang and boom, for instance.
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I added a counter to my site. I wanted to see some statistics, because I only get a few comments for some posts, but I don't know how many times any of you may read what I have to say. It skews the stats just a bit to know that I count for each time I look at the site while updating. I still need to find a counter that shows me all hits, unique hits, and not myself. But it seemed like a good idea to start somewhere. It comes with a sponsor link, and I chose Lane Bryant, because that randomly came up, and it is something I would use (if I had money to spend on clothes!). So, go check out their coupons for me, and keep my counter busy!

Several people have said they like the recipes, so I am hoping to continue those on occasion. I find I am often in a rut about what to cook. I have stacks upon stacks of cookbooks. When we got married, I asked my mother-in-law to tell people that I wanted cookbooks. I received many at our various showers, and had no duplicates. I have added several since then. For Christmas, I got Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious", and just last night I got Missy Chase Lapine's "Sneaky Chef". I figure that if Ms. Lapine is going to accuse Mrs. Seinfeld of stealing her idea, then I should probably buy both books and compare them for myself. Ms. Lapine seems to take into consideration that you CAN add veggies to anything, but questions which ones you SHOULD add to each dish. Putting Cauliflower in Macaroni and Cheese doesn't sound so bad, but Broccoli in Brownies? That sounds bad to me. Anyway, I am willing to experiment, and maybe get some of the veggies past myself and DH to make us more healthy.

Speaking of experimenting, I tried something new the other night. This was last Monday, before the stew (which we still have at least one serving of). I was thinking on the idea of a Shepherd's Pie, and came up with a Joe-like version that tasted pretty good.

Pie-less Shepherd Joe
Large skillet (I used the largest one I had, but it could have been done in a 12 inch)
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1/4 cup frozen diced onion
1/2 cup frozen diced green sweet pepper
1 can (10 ounces) Rotel (I used Mild)
1 can (8 ounces) Tomato Sauce
Spice to taste (remember my fondness for the spice rack). I recommend especially: a shake or two of Worcestershire sauce, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, black pepper, and garlic powder.


Simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until most of the liquid evaporates out, and you are left with a yummy sauce.

Serve on Toast, top with Cheese, and maybe add a side of Sour Cream.

This turned out pretty tasty, and I remembered to get pictures of it for you. A good day!

I got to baby sit the Candy Kids yesterday. Regular baby sitter's own child was sick with a fever, so late at night, I was called in as the pinch hitter. Jelly Bean was her usual aged 2 attitude, but still very sweet. She is doing well at the potty training. I had to keep asking her if she needed to go... and usually the answer was no. At one point, I just said, "let's go", so she didn't really have a way out. She really did sit, and actually did something twice, but she has no patience. "I done, that's all, there is no more to squeeze out." She does not like sitting there longer than she has to. So, at least there is no desire to read a magazine or something. She gets 3 m&m's when she accomplishes the use of the potty. Very cool reward. I even let her pick the colors she wanted. She did a lot of telling me no, hoping that I would not remind her that she needs to obey and respect anyone who is in charge. I did remind her. She also tried a lot of testing the rules, hoping that I would not know them all. Sneaky little thing. She did the most of her acting up when Mommy came home. I wonder what that was about? (Did I mention that she's 2?)

Gum Drop is growing so big! His sister was so little, and still is, I guess. He is now almost 5 months old. He doesn't like to sit down very much, he loves to stand and kick. We practiced walking a little yesterday. He did his own motion of one foot in front of the other. I just balanced him, and gave him the leaning cue to move the foot without the weight. He enjoys being on his back, and can almost completely roll over. He gets right on the verge, and then that arm on the bottom stops him. He also rolls from his front to his back, but he seems to be surprised when that happens. He puts his arms straight down by his sides when he is on his tummy, as if he thinks he can fly or something. (He was Superman for Halloween) He needs to get his arms up and his knees under him, so he can get the motion of crawling down. I have a feeling he will crawl for a day or two, and decide that walking is faster and easier. I propped him up on the arm of the couch with pillows for support, and he discovered his knee. He was very serious about examining what this new thing was.

Beware of people who don't like cats. ~ Irish proverb